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Recognition & Modeling of Natural Resources for development of tourism in religious towns province by RS and GIS Dr Aruna Saxena MANIT, Bhopal, M.P Arunasaxena2000@yahoo.com Introduction India is a place where the religion and cultural history or activities have its own great importance. In the major pilgrimage centre where the religious activities are main, it played a major role in structuring the town as the architecture of the whole town was governed by these religious activities. This phenomenon of growing of town without infrastructure has resulted in a plethora of problems in our country's tourism industries. Internally tourism depends upon tourist infrastructures basic facilities at different level and value of the tourist attractions. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) defines tourism as the "movement of people away from their normal place of work and residence for a period more than 24 hours and less then one year." In India having 12 Jyotirlings , only one Jyotirlings i.e. Omkareshwar is situated on the bank of river Narmada in M.P. The combination of Jyotirlings & holy river Narmada having its great’s importance in Hindu mythology. Using IRSIC data of 2001 and Arcview & PCI Geomatica, survey and analysis has been done. Location: The town is situated at the southern bank of Narmada at 22°15’ latitude, 76° 9' 10" longitude on Indore Khandwa Road at a distance of 24 km from Dhamnod. Mandhata Omkareshwar is approximately 77 km. from Khandwa and Indore railway junctions, 13 km. from Mortakka by road. It is well connected by road from Indore and Khandwa. 
Linkages: At Regional Level / Transportation Omkareshwar is at equidistant from Khandwa and Indore. It is under major influence of these two towns, Khandwa being the district head quarter and Indore being the closest metro city. 
At Local Level: Accessibility within the Omkareshwar is provided by unmetalled road. Some of the metalled upto some distance but not in good conditions. Climate & Wind Flow The area comes under semi arid type of climate. It experiences cold winter and hot and dry summer. The climate of the area is generally pleasant and healthy. Geology The geology of the area has not been much studied but formations like older aluvium, deccan trap, lameta beds, upped Vindhyan system, Bijawar series, granites adn Gneiss are known to have existed within the area. Omkareshswar comes under the uppar vindhyan systems which forms a narrow beld to the south of narmada river. Topography The major part of the district lies for the most part on the uplands between the valleys of two major rivers, the Narmada and the Tapti flowing parallel to each other from east to west through the district. The major natural division of the district corresponds to the four distinct, physiographic divisions. Topography of Omkareshwar town is very uneven and undulating with barren & rocky. It is the region where Satpura and Vindhyachal ranges come together. The town is in the malwa plateau region having hard basalt rocks. Narmada river flows towards west. Plateau is having steep slope in particular the town and spreading gently outward towards South. The land on this Southern bank is not plain and consists of a couple of small hillocks divided by a little stream called Kapla (now dried) the nature of settlement is mainly dependent on the geography of the town. Physical growth of Omkareshwar Omkareshwar has undergone change due to changes in the land use pattern from residential to commercial. The total area of Omkareshwar town is about 12.65 sq km. As per the land use map of Omkareshwar, large area is under residential and commercial/social use large area have been left open for mela ground and weekly markets. The exact area under various uses and left open is not known as it needs a physical survey to reconcile it with existing land use. The town consist various rectangular and linear clusters with narrow pathways or rectangular spaces in between .Linear Commercial Street with a main chowk in the middle of the township known as bazaar chowk is most functional. Central commercial street is overloaded hence the commercial activities are diverting on Dhamnod Mandleshwar road. The layout of the town is just a repertoire of basic sacred elements considered indispensable in sacred architecture, with no architectural arrangement of these elements. Spatial structure of the town thus reflects chaos a representation of its earlier religious tradition. Although, there appears no architectural arrangement, but there is perceivable underlying order in the chaos. The town structure is based on the geography of the place. Initially, the town had its own primitive and scattered pattern of settlements, both on a plateau and mountain slopes. The habitation area was well marked but the boundaries of the town and fields were never visible. Only the hillocks and the rivers formed the boundary. Later, it appears, with the coming of the Hindus, that the town was once situated mainly on the island which was fortified on all sides in the shape of the island i.e. OM. The settlements were believed to have been around the temples of Rinmukteshwar, Gaud Somnath and Siddhnath, which shifted later on. Further, the settlements grew on both the banks and the town was divided mainly into three parts: Shivpuri on the island, Vishnupuri and Brahmapuri on the southern bank of the Narmada. Shivpuri or Shiva's town is around the main temple of Omkareshwar, whereas, Vishnupuri and Brahmapuri are around the Vishnu and Brahma temples respectively, such town or settlement had its own set of major centre, commercial area, and housing. However, with the construction of the pucca road and the pedestrian bridge, the orientation of the town on the southern bank shifted accordingly. The two settlements of Vishnupuri and Brahmapuri are together known as Godarpura and the main commercial area is situated along this street. Later on the settlement acquired a comparatively more definitive and ordered pattern. 
Mandhata is situated on the island, which is about 4 km long and 2 km wide. The island comprises of two lofty hills and is divided by a valley in such a way that it appears as 'OM' word from the top. Between the precipitous hills of the Vindhya on the north and the Satpura on the south, the Narmada forms a deep silent pool, which in former times was full of alligators and fish. This pool is 270 feet below the cantilever type bridge constructed in 1979. 
The main road or the approach road, leading to the main temple is not axial but based on the geography of the town. It thus speaks of movement towards the centre. This road is not very wide and is lined on both sides by single and double storied houses, with all kinds of commercial activities alongside. It opens out into a square near the southern bank of the Narmada, which has two roads branching from it. One leads to the pedestrian bridge and the other to the ghat below. The pedestrian bridge connects the southern bank to the island. At the other end of this bridge, on the island, there is another open square, which Narrows down into a cool shaded walkway, wide enough for pedestrian traffic only, and is lined on either side by two storied houses. This street is mainly full of religious shopping. At the end of the street is another square leading to the main temple, which as already seen is shifted from the main axis of the temple. A flight of stairs from this square leads to the main temple. The whole street is not axial and changes direction based on the geography of the place. Apart from this main street and before the construction of the pedestrian bridge the only way to reach the temple was by crossing the Narmada through boats. The square on the southern bank has one more street leading down to the ghats, from where one can cross the Narmada by boat and reach the ghats on the island. Above these ghats is a flight of stairs, which leads to the main temple. The entire appearance of the place is quite picturesque, the row of houses, temples, dharamshalas and shops standing on the terrace scrapped out of the hills, conspicuous amongst them being the kings palace and the Omkareshwar temple all adorning the picture.Obviously one important factor which is responsibly for high growth rate is the growing importance of area in tourist circles. People from nearby villages seem to have migrated to Omkareshwar for seeking employment. 
Growth rate of Population
Source : from Census of India Landuse
Sources : Primary Survey
Infrastructure & Services: Omkareshwar is one of the major pilgrim centers of M.P. It is a small town in terms of population, but there is a large number of floating populations, with about 1.5 million pilgrims’ tourists in a year i.e. about 5,000 tourists daily visit Omkareshwar. This floating population effects infrastructure and services in town. Therefore, there is a need to assess whether the existing infrastructure services and adequate and if not, the deficit has to be assessed. Status of Tourism Tourism in Omkareshwar Tourism being a service industry, it creates employment opportunities for the local population. This becomes more important in a country where the level of unemployment and under employment tends to be a high. Tourist inflow year wise 1991 – 1991 to 2001 – 2002
It is seen that more than 90% of the tourist arriving in the city are domestic and only 5 – 10% are foreigners. Over a period of 10 years there is an increase in the growth rate of foreign and domestic tourists. For the foreign tourists having good linkage and accessibility to the pilgrimage centre. Monthly Variation: Though the tourist activities go round the year but the monthly variation in the number of tourists to Omkarkeshwar reflects that most of the domestic tourists are dependent upon the Kartik and Narmada Jyoti Fair and Panchmarhi Yatra where as the foreign tourist are limited to winters. August and November are the predominant months attracting of the tourists. The heat and discomfort during summer makes the travel uncomfortable and thus it is limited to vary essential purpose  
Place of Origin
Source : Primary Survey Length of Stay The duration of stay is classified in four groups i.e. for visiting tourist (less than a day), one day, two days and more than two days. It is found that percentage of tourist based on duration of stay on these classification are 56.60%, 40%, 2% and 2% respectively as shown in table below. Fairs and festivals (Omakareshwar)
Source : Primary Survey Types of Accommodation used by Tourists The type of accommodation is divided in three categories – Dharmshalas, Guest houses and Hotels. By analysis of tourist only 62% of the total tourist uses the accommodation facility out of these 63.33% uses the dharmshalas, 16.67% used guest houses and 20% tourist uses the hotels. Income v/s. Type of Accommodation
Source : Primary Survey Table shows that dharmshalas is most preferred option for all the income groups, whereas very few tourists (income group of Rs. 2001 – 4000 and above Rs. 4001) prefer the accommodation in hotels. Mode of Arrival The 58.2% tourist come by rail. 20.4% by bus, 3% by air (from Indore) and 9% by taxi or personal vehicles. Tourists by Income: Following are the percentage of tourist falling in various income categories. All the foreign tourists are kept in above 10,000 group. Monthly Income Source : Primary Survey 
Findings, Causes & Conclusions 1 Findings and Causes The analysis of primary and secondary surveys and case studies, which have been conducted, has given the following finding and causes, which are given below:
Proposal Proposals have formulated keeping in view for existing potentials and infrastructures of the Omkarshwar under the General,Immediate,Long-term heads.Tourism activities is Omkarshwar should be permitted to grow at a modern pace keeping in view the capacity of existing services and facilities needed by tourist traffic.Care should be taken so that the flux of tourist traffic does not decrease in future. Due to lack of infrastructure services.A share of income generated from tourism industry should be utilised to improve the infrastructure quality. The following strategies should be implemented immediately to achieve the balance type development of Omkarshwar. Accommodation Strategy: Accommodation facilities should be provided to medium spending group category tourist. Unauthorised accommodation should be checked and further development of such nature of activity should not be allowed especially in Omkarshwar area in the tourism promotion. This will ensure the dispersal of tourist to other areas of the valley. Low cost scheme shifting the focus from already saturated destination - Omkarshwar. Providing accommodation in alternate location like tea gardens, farm Houses, thus congestion of town would be reduced. Transportation: Transportation routes should be improved to see the tourist interest places. Proper hierarchy of modes of transportation. State govt. should have direct participation in the planning of tourist facilities. For low spending group (L.S.G.) Tourists and well defined rate structure and trained staff should be provided for the state transport. 
Tourist Package: All Tourist interest places should be include in Tour packages.Trekking tour packages should be organised around the valley by the M.P..Tourism Deptt. Strategy for promotion of publicity by production of feature film on tourist attractions and hospitality tours should include inviting for writers all over the world to participate.There should be provision of indoor and outdoor recreational facilities to increase leisure time and to increase the value of attraction by organising local folk cultural programmes and increase the improvement in winter sports sites. Water Supply And Sewerage Water supply and sanitation are basic needs which have need of improvement and require considerable investments. So it can be managed by encourage private and public participation or it can be given to private sector. Solid waste generation can be reducing by recycling of waste. Waste should be dumped / collected at specified locations. Open air defecation near river should be banned. Energy Strategy: The use of non conventional energies to reduce the consumption of electricity should be encouraged e.g. solar energy, wind energy, for beating of water and street lighting in tourist establishments. Roads: New roads development, can provide access to the local and remote area’s population for promoting their agriculture, industries, horticulture, and goods industries. It provide access to new tourist spots development it also improves the circulation and made easy access for the tourist traffic by reducing congestion and with this economic activities starts come up. Special Tax Strategies: Special taxes can be introduce for improving the basic infrastructure by local self govt. in addition to regular sale taxes for entrance fees, recreational activities, foods & drinks, which can be used for conservation, education and improving infrastructure development. Special taxes can be imposed on sale of gasoline and other motor fuels. It can be used for improving roads and National High way construction. Which directly benefits regional Developments Finance Strategy: For the tourism infrastructure development financial assistance can be availed from world tourism organization. Design and Development Controls: Tourism developments designed to blend with the existing environment for the achievement of balance development by using development controls provisions in all respect & retain the scenic beauty of the region. By Pass and Arial ropeways: Proposal for by pass and Arial ways at suitable sites. There is need for conservation of reserve forest and hot spring water spots and scenic beauty areas like log huts. Long Terms
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